Last year we gave away Neural Remaps as many of you remember. They worked out differently for different people and this time around we happily tossed them on the list of gift selections (perhaps without enough foresight some would say).

What year this has been for MapleStory! We thought it might be fun to look back at 2011 and chart all the exciting additions and changes that have re-invigorated the game and made Maple World a far more interesting place to be.

The wheel of the seasons has turned, ushering out the sun's last warmth with bitter blasts of northern winds. As snow creeps down to block mountain passes and lock the Warhammer world in the icy talons of winter, the citizens of the Old World raise their mugs high; the time of Keg End is at hand. In an epic celebration fraught with boasting, toasting, and epic fireworks, the Dwarfs clear out their stores of ales, beers and other intoxicating beverages in order to bring luck in the New Year and make way for a stock of better, stronger brews.

As the doors of the Burthorpe Rogues’ Den close, so opens the Flash Powder Factory: a new, fast-paced Thieving minigame where you’ll compete with other players to create the most flash powder possible in a short amount of time. Rewards include Thieving and Agility XP by the sack-load, and a new set of gear with benefits to those practising Herblore.

Recently, big name MMO games like City of Heroes / Villains, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures and even World of Warcraft have gone free-to-play. This movement means that these games switched from their monthly subscriptions to either an item mall or membership format where you need to pay for game access. Without adding anything to their games, these companies still found a way to increase both interest in their games and player count within those games. This shift in format, to some, is revolutionary; I see it as logical.

It wasn't too long ago, that I was pretty much a single player gamer. Games such as Assassin's Creed, God of War and Mafia II were mainstays in my Playstation 3. As a console gamer, I never really cared to dabble into the many realms of online games that are on the internet as abundantly as pornography and LOLcats!